


unexpected comfort

by sureimiku



Series: fluff bingo [2]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Post-Game, anise is the best person to go to for cheering up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23111404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sureimiku/pseuds/sureimiku
Summary: Jade's had a very, very long day at work.He surely wasn't expecting Anise to be the person to cheer him up from it.
Relationships: Jade Curtiss & Anise Tatlin
Series: fluff bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653430
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: Writing Squad Fluff Bingo





	unexpected comfort

**Author's Note:**

> this is my second fic for the fluff prompts bingo: comfort after a bad day with jade and anise!  
> I love these two's friendship, it was a lot of fun writing them & I hope you enjoy!!

Jade wasn’t expecting to end his day on a rather sour note, after dealing with some rather stubborn attendants from today’s meeting. However, as always his face betrayed that emotion, so no one had a clue how he was feeling. Or so he thought until a light knock came from the other side of his door. 

“Colonel, it’s your favorite girl~” Anise sang as she waltzed into his room. The young girl had taken a small break from training in Daath, as it was stuffy with all the soldiers inside the city. “How’s your day been?”

Jade afforded a smile at her, although inside he just _wanted to go home._ “I had to deal with some irritating people today, so I’d say my day is going wonderful.” 

“Yeah, I figured. In fact, the king sent me here because he said you’ve been distant lately and he can’t get you to cheer up. So yours truly is here to do _just that_.”

“My main source of comfort is gained from being left alone, so I’d prefer that.” He replied instantly, organizing his papers into a neat stack onto his desk. 

“No. You’re going to get cheered up, even if it takes me all day.” The younger girl huffed, blocking the door so he couldn’t exit. Jade irritatingly rubbed his temples, “And how do you suppose you’ll cheer up a miserable colonel in his mid-thirties?”

“...I don’t know. Do you want to take a walk around the city to start with? I can think of things along the way…please. If it doesn’t work today I won’t bother you about it again.”

The brunette sighed, giving in to the younger girl’s request. “I suppose I can spare some time before isolating myself.” 

Grand Chokmah in the evening was one of the most serene places in Auldrant, with the soft orange glow of the sunset shining on the countless waterfalls that surrounded the city. There weren’t many people out, as Jade hoped because he wasn’t interested in conversing with anyone after a long day. He couldn’t think of anything to say to Anise as well; there wasn’t much to talk about anyway, now that Luke was gone. Since his disappearance, things became quieter around the once familiar band of travelers; only now and then would they send letters to each other. 

Anise seemed to read his mind. “It’s been really quiet without Luke around, hasn’t it?”

He nodded, stopping in his tracks to take in the warmth of the sun. “It’s true that he could...irritate me sometimes, but only lately have I realized it’s lonelier without him. Never mind me, it’s been hurting you too, hasn’t it?” 

She sucked in a breath, averting her gaze. “I guess it really is apparent, isn’t it.” Their stroll continued, although much quieter with the two of them pondering about Luke, the one who saved them, the one who brought the most happiness to the group. 

“And here I thought I’d be able to cheer you up, but I think that’s backfired by now.” They stopped in front of the shopping plaza, silence filling between them. 

“I found this walk to be enjoyable, actually. I got some thoughts out that I wanted to talk about for a while.” He replied, much to Anise’s shock. “You’re one of the only people I can talk about it with, Guy has been busy with work and everyone else is miles away. I don’t think a simple letter could convey all my emotions.”

Anise finally lightened up at that, returning to her usual peppy self. “Colonel, do you like ice cream?”

“I grew up somewhere cold, so it’s definitely a food I _don’t_ dislike.”

“Great!” Anise signaled him towards a shop Jade hadn’t noticed before, full of an array of colorful ice cream flavors. The establishment seemed new; it appeared rather clean and smelled of new furniture. “How long has this been here?”

“Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know about this. I found out it was built not too long before we headed for Eldrant. Peony made a request for it since he couldn’t find any ice cream places around here. She skipped over to the counter, surveying the variety of flavors. “What do you want?”

Jade took a moment to answer, “vanilla, I guess. I don’t really have a preference.”

Soon two cones— vanilla and rocky road— were handed to the girl, and she gestured to Jade to sit with her next to the window. It had gotten rather dark, the stars beginning to dot the blackened sky. 

“I don’t remember the last time I had ice cream,” Jade confessed, examining the cone in front of him. “I think the last time I had one was when I was a child.”

“You went _that_ long without ice cream!?” 

“I like to watch for my health,” he replied jokingly. “As I said, it’s not like I would go through hurdles just to get some. It just never crossed my mind to have some again.” 

“Well, are you glad you got to have some again?”

The colonel genuinely smiled at her. “I wouldn’t say it’s bad.” 

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” 

The two of them exchanged a few words as they finished their frozen delights, mainly about what had been going on in their lives—training in Daath was as rough as ever, but Anise was pushing through it. Business in Grand Chokmah for Jade had gotten a tad bit busier, and the number of complaints he heard every day was getting on his nerves. But perhaps spending time like this instead of isolating himself did the trick of relieving him from that stress. 

“I suppose I should head to the inn now,” Anise spoke after finishing her cone. “I’m going to leave first thing in the morning to do some shopping, and then head back to Daath. I wish my break could’ve been a bit longer, today was really fun.” The twin-tailed girl waved at him, scurrying off to the nearby building. “Take care, okay? Don’t let those idiots at the meeting get to you.” Jade didn’t even get a chance to reply but chuckled at that last sentence. Maybe, instead of always enclosing himself from everyone else, he ought to depend on his friends for the same comfort he felt today. 


End file.
